Sitting on Aylestone Road in the south of Leicester, the National Gas Museum occupies a single-storey brick building with a gabled slate roof that dates back to 1879. The postcode is LE2 7QJ, and the museum is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 09:30 to 15:00, remaining closed from Thursday through Monday. The building was designed by the architects Shenton and Baker and carries a Grade II listed status, reflecting its historical significance as a piece of Victorian industrial architecture.
History and Origins
Originally known as the John Doran Museum, the collection opened to the public on 29 April 1977 and has since been operated by the National Gas Museum Trust, a charitable organisation. The building itself predates the museum by nearly a century, having been constructed in 1879. The renaming to the National Gas Museum marked a broader ambition to document the history of the British gas industry, from early town gas production through to the arrival of North Sea natural gas in homes and businesses across the country.
What to Expect on a Visit
The museum holds a collection focused on the history of gas, covering domestic appliances, industrial equipment, and the social story of how gas changed everyday life in Britain. As a history museum, it traces the development of gas lighting, cooking, and heating through original artefacts and displays. The Grade II listed building adds a layer of character to any visit, its brick walls and slate roof typical of the late Victorian civic and utility architecture found across the East Midlands. Given the limited opening hours of Tuesday and Wednesday mornings only, visitors are advised to plan ahead. The museum is run on a charitable basis by the National Gas Museum Trust, which oversees the preservation and presentation of the collection at 195 Aylestone Road, Leicester.